Sexual abuse alleged at Arlington Boys & Girls Club

New investigation launched

Arlington police and the Middlesex County district attorney are investigating allegations that children were sexually abused at the Arlington Boys & Girls Club between the 1970s and 1990s, Team 5 Investigates Kathy Curran has learned.

Sources said that two adult men have come forward claiming that a club employee, William Sullivan, sexually abused them. Sullivan worked at the club from 1964 to 2002 and has since died.

The Arlington Boys & Girls Club said the allegations were brought to their attention in late 2011 by a former member of the club.

The club said publicly Thursday that it disclosed its findings to the district attorney and the Arlington Police Department on Jan. 8, and that it intends to cooperate fully with both agencies, according to its executive director, Derek Curran.

It remains unclear if anyone could be prosecuted for the alleged crimes.In an open letter from the club’s executives, they said they “promptly hired a third-party to conduct an independent investigation,” and that they were “deeply troubled to discover that similar allegations of abuse had been made concerning Mr. Sullivan.”

The letter states that “at no time during the Club’s investigation were your children at any risk associated with this situation. We are communicating with you to keep you informed, reassure you and humbly acknowledge that the trust you place in us is something we must earn every day.”

Team 5 Investigates spoke with parents who just found out about news as they were leaving the club.

"It is disturbing and it makes me kind of think twice, not just about the boys and girls club but anywhere where you have people around your children,” said Tammy Koelle of Arlington.

“This is alarming, but it’s ancient, it’s 20 years ago, it doesn’t change how I feel about the staff and how qualified they are,” added Ana Stasia Gentry of Arlington.

The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, the Arlington Police Department, and the Club encourage anyone with any information about possible sexual abuse in any form and at any time related to the Club to contact the Middlesex District Attorney’s Child Abuse Unit at 781-897-8400 or the Arlington Police Department at 781-643-1212.

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